A Prize Pack Arrives!

I'm frequenter on The Romance Bandits blog and while there, I comment on quite a few of their posts.  Well!  Not long ago, I commented on one of their guest blog posts and won a prize pack!

At first, I didn't know until somebody told me about it!  How very cool, and fun.  So, not knowing where this author was in the world, I e-mailed them my PO Box and wondered quietly what was to arrive in the mail.  Today, the prize pack arrived!  And isn't it great!  I've always love receiving things in the mail, no matter what they are.  Thank you Kylie Griffin for choosing me - along with Fedora and Helen - as your winners!

Two Romance Bandits Prizes Arrivals

Today, I had a parcel show up in the mail; and I am expecting a few things as the season of Christmas approaches.  However, today, it was a prize I had won on the Romance Bandits site about a month ago of what I thought was one book; but when I opened it, it turned out that I won two books!  How good's that?  

Isn't it wonderful when you find that you think you've got one thing and it ends up being double?  I love it.  So, I'd like to personally thank Cheryl Ann Smith for sending these great romance novels to me with two bookmarks as well.  And these books are signed as well!  What a bonus!  Thank you again, Cheryl.

Birthday Parcel from Birthday Buddy Arrives!

On Bookcrossing, I have a Birthday Buddy.  We are lined up with them each year and if we're happy with them, we keep in touch and send each other gifts each year on each other's birthdays.  It's a lot of fun and I look forward to this time of year each year as it's a great give and take thing.

Well, today, I collected my parcel from the post office, but didn't open it as I had to get myself to the bus stop to get to my volunteer work.  Once there, and before it poured rain, I pulled out the cake for the day (before I found out that there were already two other cakes in the fridge) to share with the other volunteers.  Then, I pulled out my parcel and opened it at the front desk with my partner volunteer who worked with me today.  She was amazed that I received a present from somebody who was ultimately a complete stranger; and yet, we were so generous to each other.  I said that was main idea of Bookcrossing; it's a trust thing and it putting your trust in other people.  She loved it that there were so many good books inside such a small bag; and loved the coin purses, saying that my devotion to collecting them was wonderful!

So, I must say a big thank you to froggirlwendy for sending me the most wonderful present of five books, two coin purses, writing paper and inspirational quote and a lovely card (which will join the one on the piano from Mum and Dad).  I can't wait to get into reading these ones over the next few months - or better still over Christmas!  Thank you again, and happy reading!

Big-Sized Reeces and a Calendar

Wow!  It's been over a month since the last time I received a parcel in the mail from somebody; and this time, it came from Canada.  I wasn't expecting anything; and usually the PO Box is overflowing with bills and junk mail.  This time, it had a blue parcel pick-up card and I was totally delighted!  So, after picking it up, I found on the customs sticker, it said chocolate... my favourite kind of deliver (well, okay, next to books!)

I gotta thank the wonderful BCer who sent this calendar and jumbo-sized Reeces to me; two of them.  After I photographed them, I put them into the fridge to chill (as we're having the hottest Autumn on record right now here in Australia!  It's still hot during the day and night!).  I look forward to putting up other parcels and goodies that show up in my PO Box in the future.

Ornament Swap Arrives... but...

Today, my Ornament Swap for Bookcrossing arrived in the mail.  However, it wasn't really meant for me.  It was supposed to be on its way to oi-reader who is Twynnie's partner this year; and oi-reader was the person who was supposed to send something to me.  TexasWren fixed this sad dilemma and asked Twynnie to sent oi-reader's ornament to me instead.  And I thought it was such a true and touching gesture.  I love it; as oi-reader would have too.

Thank you, Twynnie for sending me this gift.  It will take pride of place on the tree; and your card will be one my piano as well with the others that are arriving as well.  

Mixed Favourites Book Baggies Returns Home

There are times when I have the fun of organising a Book Baggie.  Sometimes it's themed; sometimes it's not.  This one was a Mixed Favourites one.  This means you can toss in any book you loved reading and recommend to anyone to read.  I also included a little pink plastic pencilcase that was for any goodies that may be collected and swapped along the way.

When I posted the baggie off four months ago around Australia, there wasn't much in the pencilcase and the baggie was full ( and I think it was a 5kg bag).  And it came back in a 3kg bag bursting at the seams with books; as did the pencilcase.  And just look at the amount of books that you all sent to around to each other, checked out, swapped and packed back in!  The last person on the list - Juli2007 - must have had a little trouble with packing the bag as when I unpacked it on the kitchen table, I couldn't re-pack to take it upstairs.

There was so much in the pencilcase too!  From a mini-bible to teas, moisturisers, sunscreen, bookmarks, ear-rings, stickers (loads of those!), magnets and other cute things!  And the books were of a wonderful assortment!  I even got two of my own back... how brilliant the world works.  And the funnier thing was that I couldn't fit the pencilcase on the table with the books; and so had to take a separate photo of the contents... how's that for amazing?

Thank you all for taking part and for all the wonderful goodies that came back home safely... well, I do look forward to next year's 'Mixed Favourites Book Baggie'... don't you? 

A Big Bag of Goodies!

Wow!  It's been such a long time since I received something... a month or so!  And this morning, I felt really down as I have new neighbours who are making me feel very depressed because of their attitude toward me.  So, it was a total surprise to find a parcel pick-up card in my PO Box when I arrived at the Post Office; and an even bigger one when I found out it came from Julie2007!  

Thank you so much for all the great goodies inside this one from your desk clean out!  There's ear-rings, rings, post-it notes, joke American $1 note and Australian stuff.  I found all kind of bracelets and a tiny deck of cards along with dozens of others cute things too.  Just have a look at the photos!  I couldn't fit all the things into one photo and had to take two separate ones to make it all fit!  Wow!  And Julie2007, you gave me some great stuff to put into the Surprise Parcel I'm giving away soon.  Thank you so much for this!  

Book Labels from Hyphen8!

In the mail today, I also received another piece of mail; however this one came further than the Christmas card. Enclosed in this pretty envelope, was book labels from BC and hand-made book corners, and bookmarks. I love them all! They are so beautiful and will most definitely be used in the most suited books to match them all! This may take some time to put them with books to match them; so they may sit for a little while until I find the right book to suit.

Otherwise, thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and generosity as it's the small things that make everything else in life worthwhile. Thank you so much, Hyphen8 for making my day!

Advent Calendar Christmas Present

Today the PO Box didn't have much in it. Well, it had one parcel pick-up and so I thought it may have been pretty much anything from a RABCK to a Bookring. But today, it is something much more special than either of those things! Today, the Advent Calendar Present arrived from Nikel27! Inside the envelope is a letter explaining what to do with the present and the date I'm to open it.
Now, I'm very curious about what's inside the gorgeous paper... but, I'm not one to break the rules of this game you've created. So, under the tree this parcel will go until the date on the top of the letter (which is 24th, December, 2009. I will be opening this present down at Brunswick Heads on Christmas Eve!).

I will update this post when I find out which book I've gotten. Until then, we'll all be in suspense!

A Belated Birthday Gift.

When Loey came to pick me and Stevie up this morning, she told me there was a parcel for me in the car. Once I got my little bird settled in the back seat, I opened front passenger door and found the parcel that had traveled a long way from Pugwash, Canada. Yes! Queenfrog, your parcel arrived safe and sound after being in transit for so long. As we drove along Logan Road in the heat today, Unwrapped the many little gifts you had picked out thoughtfully one by one and I must say that I love each and every one of them!

Thank you so much for putting the thought and time into this present. I really do love the book cover. It will be used this Christmas when I'm down the coast - as the salt air really isn't good for books down there. I have found a place for everything from my parcel of goodies you sent to me; no matter how late it has arrived. You are wonderful!

HGG - From New Zealand!

I unwrapped this one and was taken back to New Zealand by a wonderful friend! You see, I have been to the South Island; but it was a long time ago and I just barely remember it, because I was very ill when I returned. All I have left is a photo album of photographs of places I don't remember and a diary of memories I think I had (sounds sad, but really I don't remember being there all that much). Anyway, as soon as I opened the calendar, I saw Milford Sound and completely remembered that trip!

Thank you so much for this beautiful gift Sfogs! The coin purse is gorgeous as is the card you chose. I love it all! And one day in the future, I'll have to return to New Zealand and see the place at my own pace.

Sweepstakes from Erishkigal!

This is so cool! I went to the post office today because it's going to rain a lot and I didn't want to get wet. When I arrived, I collected one blue parcel collection slip and a few letters, then went inside; only to find there was another parcel on the counter I had to sign for! Cool! And this was the parcel I had to sign for.

I love all kinds of things North American Indian; and I hadn't thought of books. However, I was surprised at the gorgeous cedar berry necklace! Just look how beautifully-made it is and the colours of it! I tried it on and love it! Thank you so much Erishkigal for these I will have to get into the book (once I make a dent in my Mt TBR) and I'll wear the necklace when I go out next.

Sweepstakes from Shemchin!

Oh! Wow! I've never gotten something from one of these before in all the years I've been with Bookcrossing! And of all days, I'm so happy I received this on in the mail! I had to send my little bird off to the vet after she threw up seed all over the place yesterday morning and I was as worried as a pet owner could get when I opened my PO Box and found the red collection slip inside. So I went into the post office and signed for the parcel to be handed a huge one! Once out in the car, I opened it and found a massive bag of Reece's Peanut Butter Cups!!! Yummo! Loey saw them and her mouth dropped. Then I said there were books and teabags... and well, you can see by the photograph that there was a lot in the parcel!

Thank you so much Shemchin for making my day! You really brightened it up! You're one-of-a-kind!

HGG - All The Way From California!

After such a stressful weekend (which I won't go into here), I opened my PO Box find a wonderful surprise inside it! A red pick-up card; this means I had to sign for it. I opened the envelope at the post office (no, I couldn't wait until I got home; I get too excited when it's got my screen name on the front!) and out came the two gorgeous coin purse, the bookmark, a hand-written note and a pen. I also found the magnet inside the woven coin purse. All of these beautiful things came from California! I love them and will get great use out of them!

Thank you so much for this wonderful surprise. I love it and will most definitely get into using all of it very soon, judygreeneyes.

International Country/State Exchange

Now, this is an exchange that is hosted by nediamnori87 and they lined me up with hyphen8 in Hawaii (however, I didn't receive an e-mail about who I was lined up with; so I didn't get to send anything off). So, today, in the mail, I received a large parcel almost totally covered in stamps! Just look at that envelope! Isn't it amazing?

Inside it was two books, two bookmarks, two post-it note pads and a postcard with a pamphlet of edible Hawaii... brilliant! I've had 'The Once and Future King' by T.H White on my wishlist for a long time now, and now I can get in and read it... and the second book is from Hawaii, about Hawaii; wonderful! I've have yet to own a book like this one; and now I do, I'm going to be on the look out for more of them. Thank you so much, hyphen8 for sending me this parcel, I really appreciate it.

45's!

I love my brother and his girlfriend! Really I do! They went to Melbourne recently and travelled around to see the sights and sounds of the place. While there, they also bought my birthday present! And Gabe knows I love vinyls; and I collect them too - old and rare ones!

So, today, while visiting Mum and Dad's we swapped birthday presents. I bought him a 'Ducati' sign with the Isle of Mann insignia in the corner and the TT Races 1978 too! He loves it! And the vinyls he gave me were INXS, Nirvana and another that looks Spanish; and they're all 45's! I love them and can't wait to play them. Thank you Gabe for the pressies! I'll play them... now to make a section in my vinyl collection for 45's.

Arty and Fun

This was the last one that I opened yesterday at Loey's house; and there was plenty of things inside! There was no first thing that caught my eye; but I do love the arty postcards and the Donald Duck stickers; they're so cute! Mum loves the birthday card which has 'Happy Birthday' in your home language on the front (I love that kind of thing too); which had joined the rest of the birthday cards on the piano. The Anne Geddes note book will be put to great use as will the bookmarks and post-it notes.
Thank you so much chamonix44 for sending all these cute and lovely things to me for my birthday. They'll most definitely find a place in my house. Some of them will be used in the Bookcrossing basket Loey gave me.

The Mark of Friendship

When I opened this parcel, I didn't find any books. I found the most lovely notebooks, bookmarks and a magnet. All of them spoke of friendship and opportunity in the most beautiful ways. This is how I feel about you all; as friends across the miles and on the net through the forums. You're friends to me and will always be there for me; I will always be there for you.
Lone-Star-Lori, these are wonderful things to send across the miles to me on my birthday and I thank you very much. I will use them and remember you were the one who gave them to me. Some of them will stay in the Bookcrossing basket; as that's where a lot of the things that I've received has been placed; and other things will be used in other places around the house. Thank you again.

And From My Birthday Buddy...

Today, my gift from Froggirlwendy arrived! Yay! I love receiving presents on my birthday from her. And I knew the gift was arriving this week some time if it didn't arrived on Monday. Anyway, I saw the 3kg bag and knew it was hers and borrowed a pair of scissors from the ladies at the post office and opened the bag straight away. Two lovely, glittery purses, a block of 'Greens' Dark chocolate and a book came out with two beautiful bookmarks slotted in the front; along with a gorgeous card. Underneath the card was a bookplate designed by Boirina and the 'registered by' part filled in already (by me; so I'll used this one for this book). What a present and I look forward to posting off her gift to her soon in about two weeks time.

Thank you so much for your thoughtful gifts. I'll get a lot of use from the coin purses and the bookmarks will most definitely be added to my ever-growing collection.

A Shared Gift Is Just As Wonderful!

Now, this one is from Dancesport and she did a great thing for Loey and me. She missed Loey's birthday basket and so she included both our gifts in this one; letting us pick out what we wanted.

However, I thought it would be great to show some of the lovely things she put into the envelope. Thank you so much for your thoughtful gift. Loey and I both received bookplates, bookmarks and a postcard each. I took the one with the dragon on it and Loey took the one with the child under the tree.